Monday, August 12, 2013

Tal Becker of the Shalom Hartman Institute: "Israel and the Constancy of Change"

Tal Becker: Israel and the Constancy of Change

Hartman Scholars Explore the High Holy Days

Hartman Institute scholars have many insights to offer for the High Holidays. Click here to access articles, essays, videos, and educational materials.

Tal Becker says that Judaism tells us that change is coming, the only question is whether we will be a part of it. Read his column:

What is astonishing is that the pull of determinism remains strong even when evidence of change is all around us. As parents, our children grow and change before our eyes, and yet at each stage of their development we can find it hard to imagine them transitioning to the next. We are often drawn to seeing our current job, or our family life, or our emotional state, as fixed in stone even if our own very life experience points to the contrary.

When we look at the Middle East the same dynamic is often at play. In the last years we have watched the region undergo unprecedented change, and yet many find it hard to accept that more is yet to come. With each transition, many quickly persuade themselves that things have settled permanently into place.

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